Gauteng’s plan to invest R120 billion in expanding the Gautrain service over the next two years is a great cause for concern, says the Automobile Association (AA).
The AA said that any expansion of this rapid rail system would amount to a wasteful expenditure on something that is already highly underutilised, and which does not service the needs of the majority of citizens in the province.
The Gauteng Rapid Rail Integrated Network Extensions study has identified expansion routes for the Gautrain to the Lanseria Airport, Cradle, Soweto, Cosmo City, Little Falls, Fourways, Sunninghill, Irene, Mamelodi, Olievenhoutsbosch, Irene, Tshwane East, Hazeldean, Boksburg with new stations at East Rand Mall and Boksburg.
The AA says this essentially boils down to the so-called “Patronage Guarantee”, which is a funding mechanism that compensates Gautrain’s operator Bombela for low levels of usage of the service.
More than R5.1 billion has been paid to Bombela, which is a private concessionaire, by the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport in the past two financial years alone, according to the Gautrain Management Agency’s 2024 Integrated Annual Report.
This, it says, was due to actual revenue and ridership being significantly below the minimum required total revenue projections.
“It is quite clear that Gautrain failed to deliver on its ridership projections from the outset and now the burden of funding falls on taxpayers - the majority of whom don’t even use the system because it’s too expensive to do so.
“They are, in effect, subsidising a system that caters to the elite who are already mobile,” the AA said.
“The fact that Gautrain stations have some of the biggest parking lots in the province for the vehicles of those who use the system stands in stark contrast to those who have no transport solutions at all.
“In addition, there is a lack of reliable, sustainable, affordable, and safe public transport for the majority of the province’s citizens, many of whom must walk to their destinations because they have no alternative,” the association added.
Expanding to many more areas
Gautrain’s operator said it undertook a “comprehensive feasibility study” of possible extensions for the service, which was then submitted to the National Treasury.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, reiterating the expansion plans at his recent State of the Province Address, said the proposed expansion would increase the distance covered by the Gautrain from 80km to 230km, while potentially creating 125,000 jobs over the next five years.
The proposed extensions include a link between Marlboro and Soweto, with new stations in Randburg, Cosmo City, Little Falls, Roodepoort and Jabulani.
The latter station will also be linked to Mamelodi in Pretoria through Cosmo City, with various new stations including Fourways, Irene and Pretoria East. Cosmo City will also be linked to Lanseria Airport.
Another link will exist between Rhodesfield and Boksburg, with new stations at East Rand Mall and Boksburg.
Can Gauteng really afford the Gautrain?
However the financial burden caused by service, and which is surely only set to expand with the Gautrain’s expansion, comes at a time when the province is on the brink of financial collapse due to certain commitments, including e-toll debt.
That fact was admitted by Gauteng’s MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, only last week.
“We stand firm in our opposition to the extension of the Gautrain network, and the continued funding of the system through the Patronage Guarantee.
“A serious rethink of the expansion of the system is needed, particularly since it has shown that it cannot deliver on the numbers it projects and is, therefore, more of a liability than an asset,” the AA concluded.
IOL